Chapter 15:
Natsu walked through the empty halls of Phantom Lord, mages of said guild surprisingly absent but the dragon prince rationalized that they were in front of his own guild hall fighting along the shadows. He strained his hearing, searching for any foe that would dare cross his path and as he did so it was not hard to pick the sounds of Wendy's victory. Erza's battle with Aria the wind mage was still going on but it was clear Erza would emerge victorious as well. Gray has already taken down Rain woman – Juvia was her name if Natsu remembered correctly – and the battle had a rather... interesting end. Elfman's fight with Sol finished only a few moments ago and Natsu could swear he heard Mira at some point in the battle but that was preposterous. She was not here. How would she be?
Deciding that questioning that would just lead to more questions, Natsu dropped the matter entirely, making a mental note to talk with male Strauss sibling. Black eyes focused on the hall before him once again, or more specifically on metal door that stood before him. Dragon prince had no doubt that Lucy was on the other side of them – her strong lavender and green apple scent more than enough to ensure him.
With a small, barely audible sigh the chaos dragon slayer raised his leg and slammed his foot in the metal doors, sending them crashing into the floor with a loud clang.
A teenager, maybe a year or two older than himself stared at him, only semi-surprised by the crude way of his entry. Red eyes stared at black for a long moment before the black-haired teenager grinned, canines glinting in the light. Even if Natsu didn't saw the particular set of teeth that were more or less a dead giveaway the man smelled of iron in a way only dragon slayer taught by iron an iron dragon could.
''You're an Iron dragon slayer'' Natsu stated after another moment, his eyes moving to Lucy who sat on the floor behind the dragon slayer, looking quite shaken but also visibly relieved ever since Natsu stepped in.
''Gajeel Redfox'' red-eyed teen introduced himself. ''You're Kira, aren't ya?''
''I prefer Natsu Souleater'' Natsu replied evenly with a nod. ''But Kira is also correct I guess''
Gajeel stared at stoic teen for a moment before he chuckled, the sound not sounding particularly natural. 'Son of Acnologia, my ass! Metalicana said himself Acnologia would never take a human child'
Gajeel looked at Natsu 'He surely has one of those lacrimas implanted in himself'
''If you are quite done staring at me I would like to get to the point'' Natsu informed iron dragon slayer dryly.
''You here for the Heartfillia girl?'' Gajeel asked with a smirk.
''I was under impression that was obvious''
''I can't give her to you'' Gajeel replied ''You know – orders are orders. And it's not like I actually want to either way''
''You don't strike me like someone who follows orders'' Natsu noted.
''I'm not but it's definitely more fun than watching you walk away''
''You want to fight me?'' Natsu asked curiously. People usually made a point to avoid that bit of activity with him. If their name wasn't Erza that is.
Gajeel nodded ''Of course. You seem like someone that could give me a challenge. And don't worry, I'll be careful not to break too much''
Lucy scoffed at him. ''You'll need to be careful not to provoke him too much so you might get away with only a few bones broken''
She wasn't on many missions with pink-haired dragon slayer nor did she spent a large amount of time with him but she knew he was not the one to simply knock his opponent out.
Gajeel glanced at her, missing the tiny nod her reply got from Natsu whose thoughts were going along the same line as Lucy's while also realization settled in him. No wonder iron dragon slayer was so confident. He believed he could beat him.
'How foolish' Natsu mused.
''You shut up or I'll make sure you won't be able to speak ever again'' Gajeel hissed making Lucy take a step back even before his index finger that was pointed at her was covered in iron claw.
A rather nasty smile stretched Lucy's lips a second later much to Gajeel's confusion but when booted foot slammed into the side of his face he got a good idea why the blonde smiled.
''While I find her constant talking annoying most of the times cutting off her tongue seems a bit extreme, wouldn't you agree?'' Natsu spoke from his spot where Gajeel used to stand a few moments ago. Lucy looked at the pink-haired teen with an annoyed look in her eyes but stayed quiet, not wishing to reinforce his point.
Gajeel stared at him, not bothering to hide his shock. He hadn't even heard him move and the teen sent him flying across the room and cracked his jaw in that one kick. Grunting in displeasure the black-haired teen stood up and whipped the blood that trickled down through his mouth, a result of getting his tongue bitten with enough force from the sudden hit.
''You made a big mistake, Kira'' Gajeel growled, magic circle appearing beneath him. With a yell he ran at the stoic black-eyed teen, hand extending as the incantation left his lips ''Iron dragon's club!''
The extended limb moved towards Natsu who bent to the side to avoid it and once it passed by him the chaos dragon slayer latched onto the arm and with a swing sent Gajeel into the wall and trough it. Gajeel growled again as he climbed out of the hole he collapsed in and rose. ''You think you can defeat me with few cheap tricks?'' he asked when he noticed Natsu didn't move a step from his spot since they started.
''Yes'' Natsu replied easily.
''Let's see how to do you like this'' Gajeel muttered, his magic rising for a second before it settled again, warping his skin making the metal armor that glinted in the light.
''Try breaking me now'' Gajeel replied with a smirk. ''My skin and bones are harder than steel''
A small smirk settled on Natsu's lips, a rather disturbing sigh if Lucy was asked and the black eyes slitted, the usual round shape gone.
''As big as a waste of my time you are you prove to be rather amusing'' Natsu noted, flexing his fingers. Gajeel scoffed at pinkhead and rushed at him, arm again turned into the club but this time instead of dodging, Natsu warped his own hand in black-and-blue chaos energy. ''Chaos dragon's iron fist''
Natsu slammed his bandage warped fist into the club making Gajeel stop, unable to push forward and also wondering if the crack he heard meant his hand was broken. It certainly felt like it.
Before he could contemplate the possibility that never before occurred Natsu twisted his upper body, and slammed his foot in the club, forcing Gajeel to kneel in order to avoid having his arm broken any further as Natsu pushed it to the ground.
''Chaos dragon's wing attack!'' Natsu jumped in the air, and swung his outstretched arms, the energy moving towards Gajeel at an alarming rate. With a grunt he rolled out of the way, the spell catching his right leg, effectively destroying his pants and boot and he knew it was only thanks to the metal scales covering his skin that he still had his leg, as mangled as it was.
Not the one to give up the iron dragon slayer took a deep breath preparing to blast Natsu who was walking towards him as far as possible, the fact Natsu stopped walking and also took a deep breath somewhat alarming.
''Iron dragon's ROAR!'' Gajeel roared at pinkhead who released his own roar a moment later.
The two roars crashed together though Gajeel's was ridiculously easy to overpower. The roar picked him from the ground and sent him crashing yet again through the wall but this time he wasn't so sure he would be able to get up. ''Shit...'' he muttered, his eyes fixed on his arms he managed to bring in the fort of his face, not a second before the roar hit him. The iron scales were ripped apart, showing his badly mangled arms that were missing a rather large chunk of meat on them. Not something fatal and something that would be able to heel over time but it definitely hurt like hell.
He was brought out of his pained thoughts when a hand grabbed his leg and dragged him over the debris left by his forced passage through the wall. The fact scales on his back weren't in any better shape than those on his arms didn't help as a random piece of wood managed to stab itself just below his shoulder blade. He soon found himself staring into black slitted eyes of his opponent, insufferable smirk that bordered on insane still on Natsu's face as he grabbed a handful of Gajeel's hair and lifted the teen up into a sitting position.
''Should I gouge your eyes out or tongue? I heard both are quite painful, especially if you do it slowly'' Natsu questioned mildly. Seemingly talking to himself.
Gajeel's eyes widened slightly. He realized Natsu was stronger after the second hit he took – a serious blown to his pride since he doubted Natsu even knew how Acnologia looked. That being said he definitely didn't plan to die in this fight or any fight anytime soon but the pink-haired menace before him didn't seem to share his plans.
''Natsu...'' Lucy called out to her guildmate carefully, half-expecting he would turn on her if she interrupted him but she also wouldn't appreciate him torturing the black-haired teen in front of her even if he was an overconfident idiot.
Natsu looked at her, slitted eyes blank as ever and after a second, much to her and Gajeel's surprise he let the black-haired teen go, the said teen crashing into the ground with pained ''Ompf''.
''I won't kill you now'' Natsu informed the downed slayer who struggled to stay conscious. ''I try not to kill fellow kin if I don't have to but make no mistake that I would have any problem doing it if you give me another reason''
Gajeel gave a small chuckle that was interrupted by a caught. ''People had no idea how accurate they were when they named you Soulless Fairy''
''Probably'' Natsu didn't deny before he raised his leg once more and crashed it into Gajeel's head, sending the man into the blissful unconscious.
The pink-haired teen turned to Lucy who squirmed under the slitted gaze, thankful and relieved when black orbs turned round once again. ''Are you alright?'' came the question surprising her slightly. Natsu truly couldn't care less but spending so much time with Mira and Wendy gave him some semblance of manners.
''Yes'' Lucy replied after a moment as Natsu moved behind her to untie her hands bound behind her back. Blonde couldn't help but flinch when she felt freezingly cold hands brush against her skin. Natsu moved his recently clawed finger through the thick ropes, easily cutting through it.
Lucy frowned when something wet dripped on her hand before the rope came loose. She brought her hands to her chest to rub her sore wrist but stopped, her eyes fixed on the dark red, almost black drop of... something that trickled down. She reluctantly sniffed it in confusion. 'Cooper'
''Blood'' Natsu supplied her with the answer, making the blonde turn to him. A small gasp escaped her lips when she saw Natsu looking at his own left hand curiously, the same dark blood soaking the black bandages and the sleeve of his shirt, slowly dripping to the floor.
''A-are you alright?'' Lucy asked uncertainly. He didn't seem to be in pain though it was hard to say considering she couldn't note anything different in his facial expression aside from barely notable curiosity as he flexed the hand.
''Why wouldn't I be?'' Natsu looked at her, sounding genuinely confused by her question.
Lucy sweat-dropped. 'Yea.. why indeed?'
''We better get-'' Natsu was stopped from finishing his sentence as something crashed in the side of his face with enough force to send him flying. ''NATSU!?'' Lucy cried out in shock while dragon slayer picked himself out of the rubbish he found himself in. Natsu didn't answer but simply turned slightly annoyed glare at the direction of his attacker.
''Kukuku'' his attacker chuckled as he stepped forward, out of the shadows he was hiding for, a fist made out of shadows stretched above him for a moment longer before it disappeared though it gave Natsu a very good idea who his attacker was. ''So the original was beaten by a fake. I would've said how original but I find it rather corny''
Natsu raised his eyebrow at amused Phantom Lord master. ''Fake?''
Jose's grin widened while Lucy stepped back, unsure what to do. She was not deluding herself she could compete with someone of Jose's or Natsu's level yet she felt like she needed to help somehow.
''Why yes, fake. You are a fake dragon slayer and therefore I called you Fake. There is no way Acnologia would raise a human. Acnologia is dead for hundreds of years now anyway''
Natsu's eyebrow twitched and his eyes narrowed.
'So much about helping him' Lucy mused dryly 'He's going to raise Jose along with his entire guild hall'
Jose's smug grin was short-lived, however, when Natsu ran at him, so fast that Jose would've missed if he had blinked, certainly not slow enough for Phantom Lord master to dodge. The iron fist of the Chaos dragon crashed into his stomach sending him flying.
It was only his years of experience that managed to put his mind together in order before he crashed that allowed him to gather enough coherent thought to form another shadowy hand that caught him, making his fall much more pleasant than it would've been if he went through the wall behind him. Natsu didn't wait for Jose to regain his bearings and charged again. Leg raised to kick him in the head though Jose managed to catch the quick attack by the still formed shadow. A quick exchange of kicks and fists followed and the several few hits that connected with his hands and shin instead of shadow libs circling around him made Jose's teeth rattle.
Natsu pressed the man, using both regular punches and kick along with magic reinforced once. When twenty shadow fists rose from the ground and went after him the chaos dragon slayer jumped back but didn't stop his attack.
''Chaos dragon's ROAR!''
Jose's eyes widened when his attempt to push persistent pinkhead back backfired on him and now he was faced by the tornado of black-and-blue energy the size of a grown man. Shadowy hands twisted in an urgent attempt to shield himself and formed a wall in front of Jose but he quickly found out that it won't be enough as the roar pushed against his defenses, struggling only briefly to break the hastily twisted shield. With a cry of pain, Jose was driven into the ground.
''I... will not.. lose to – umpf!'' Jose's threat, replay or whatever his next sentence should've been was promptly silenced with Natsu's foot in his mouth.
''Be quiet while I rip your hands out of their socket's'' Natsu said in a conversational tone and flexed his fingers, a sadistic glint forming in his black eyes, once again slitted.
Jose's own eyes widened when Natsu grasped his frantically waving hands, incredibly strong grip on his arms almost enough to break the bones on its own. Natsu removed his foot from man's mouth and placed it on his chest. Jose gritted his teeth in frustration as he grounded out the incantation, barely capable of drawing enough breath to do so.
''Ghost push!'' shadows rose from the ground around the two and rushed at Natsu, managing to push him back off of Jose only due to their overwhelming number and sudden appearance. Natsu growled at his enemy, hands already warped in chaos energy as he slammed them into the ghosts that lingered long enough to try an attack. The distraction they caused left Jose with an opening he didn't have during the entire fight.
''Dead wave!''
Phantom Lord master thrusted his hands forward, new shadows rising and twisting around his hands before they were fired at the dragon slayer, ripping and tearing the already heavily damaged floor before them.
Lucy gaped at the scene, Natsu's name already on her lips to warn him but instead, she grounded her teeth and jumped at dragon slayer. She crashed into Natsu whose eyes went wide at the sudden human contact and the two crashed against the wall, spell passing behind them, missing them by an inch. Jose stared stupidly at his failed attempt to hit the dragon slayer, the master completely forgot the blonde was there.
Natsu found himself in a rather awkward position, lying in the pile of rubble that decorated the edges of the devastated room with Lucy lying on top of him, her chest pushed in his head.
''If you wouldn't mind getting off of me...'' black-eyed dragon slayer commented when Lucy didn't move for a second. The blonde blushed fiercely at that and tried to scramble to her feet but unable to take footing in her position. With a sigh and more than a little awkward, the dragon prince jerkily pushed the blonde off of himself, Lucy falling with a yelp to the side.
Natsu stood up in a second and dusted himself, hardly believing the blonde actually pushed him. He was perfectly capable of deflecting that attack, thank you very much.
''Don't do that again'' he advised the blonde that managed to sit up only to glare at him. ''Is that a way to say thank you to someone who wanted to help you?'' she demanded.
''No'' Natsu deadpanned but didn't move to help her stand up or continue their short conversation, turning to Jose who was still stupidly staring at them.
''Shall we continue?'' the dragon prince wondered and began his advance towards Jose who swallowed and prepared himself for round two. If the stoic teen was stronger than him – and Jose was not admitting he was, he probably just had a bad day and the teenager got lucky – he will use some more underhanded methods to win.
''So tell me, how did a fake like you came to an idea to call himself the son of Acnologia?'' Jose taunted with a grin. Natsu blinked at him, not looking any angrier than he was a moment ago.
''You must like the idea quite a bit if you still proclaim it like that even though everyone believes you're just a liar''
Natsu's eyebrow twitched before he rushed at Jose who grinned triumphantly, spells already forming. ''Dark –''
The fist in his jaw was rather unexpected considering Natsu was several feet in front of him only a few seconds prior and now he was standing in front of him. The master would've fallen on his bottom from the hit but dragon slayer grabbed his throat.
''Any last words?'' Natsu asked and squeezed a little tighter making the man wheeze and gasp for breath.
''M-monster'' Jose spat at dragon slayer, the spit hitting the dragon prince just above his right eyebrow. Lucy froze at the sight, practically able to feel the cold fury now building in Natsu as he started squeezing tighter.
''Dragon slayer secret art: black executioner: –''
Lucy watched in utter horror as the words rolled down Natsu's tongue, the tone of his voice completely different yet disturbingly the same, double-layered as it was.
''Natsu! Stop this instant!'' the booming voice of Makarov almost made Lucy cry in relief and by the looks of it Jose wasn't far either.
Natsu tensed, the aura of darkness that started spreading around him disappearing in a blink, almost like he wasn't aware it was there until now. Makarov walked towards pinkhead who still held Jose tightly, claws on his left hand digging into the skin on the pale man's neck.
''And a valid reason for such a foolish act?'' Natsu questioned and Makarov had to stop himself from pinching the bridge of his nose.
''Fairy Tail members are not killers'' Makarov informed the dragon slayer with a scowl on his place.
''Does that mean I'm not a Fairy Tail member?'' Natsu asked, genuinely curious about the fact. Makarov sighed heavily and shook his head.
''You are a member of Fairy Tail''
''Then don't claim what is not true'' Natsu responded and released the hold on Jose's neck, letting the man collapse to the ground and wheezing for breath. Makarov looked around the room with another sigh, relieved to see Lucy unharmed and somewhat curious of the teenager unconscious in one corner.
A resounding crack echoed through the quiet room and Makarov's eyes snapped to the dragon slayer who had his eyes fixed on his hands, an uncharacteristic frown set on his face. It didn't take master long to figure out where that crack had come from, considering Natsu's right arm that was not covered by the sleeve looked like shattered glass.
''Too much magic...'' Natsu muttered to himself and sighed before he looked up, Lucy and Makarov both staring at the almost black blood trailing down his both hands. Not bothering to explain himself to them or reassure the two Natsu took a fistful of what reminded of Jose's coat and lifted the man from the ground getting a quiet yelp in response from him.
''We have better things to do instead of you two gawking at me like circus attraction''
Makarov and Lucy blinked and nodded after a moment, master walking to one of the holes in the wall that used to separate outside with indoors. Natsu was ready to jump into the water with Jose over his shoulder almost hundred feet bellow but Makarov's hand stopped him. ''You've done enough today, my boy. Let me carry the traitorous master and carry you two across''
Lucy looked somewhat puzzled by the offer but realization quickly came when Makarov stepped out, using Titan magic immediately and within a second standing on the bottom of the ocean, tall enough for two mages to easily reach him. Lucy settled on his shoulder and Natsu next to her, his back tense and obviously uncomfortable with his current situation. When he went to the window to jump he had no intention reaching the waters bellow but simply opening the void. With master's offer he couldn't really use the excuse 'I had to use it' when he tried to explain Wendy the state of his hands.
He looked at them again, fighting back a grimace when he noticed the skin on his right hand peeling off, black scales glinting underneath.
''That looks quite painful'' Lucy commented as the made their way toward the shore, the fight between members and ghosts over once Jose was defeated.
Natsu wondered how to respond to that or even if he should. Seeing no real harm in it he replied. ''It's not. At least not to me. I have high pain-tolerance''
''Still doesn't look pleasant...'' Lucy half-whispered, half-said before the blonde continued. ''Is it permanent?''
''Quite''
''Ouch''
Natsu shrugged, not willing and not knowing how to respond to that. It really didn't pain him as much as it would someone else.
They reached the shore moments later and the two jumped down from masters shoulder and the man shrunk to his midget size again, Jose promptly dropped on the ground making the man grumble but unwilling to do much in order to escape. He knew he couldn't and he had no intention angering the pink-haired menace that was looking at him.
''Lucy! Natsu! Are you alright?'' Erza spoke to them first as the Titania approached, bruised and with split lip but looking relatively unharmed.
''Yes, thanks to him I am'' Lucy said with a smile.
''Thanks to him?'' Jose scoffed and was probably going to speak further if Natsu didn't slam his knee into the man's head. ''Shut up'' the dragon deadpanned.
''Brother?!''
Natsu looked up and almost sighed in exasperation at Wendy's terror-filled expression. ''Are you alright, Wendy?'' he asked instead. Wendy glared at him, though the effect was quite lessened by the tears that threatened to spill from her already watered eyes.
''You were going to use a secret art, am I right?'' Wendy whispered as she moved to her brother, soft green glow warping around her fingers. Natsu nodded somewhat awkwardly and frowned slightly when he noticed a tear trailing down Wendy's face. With a sigh, the dragon slayer cupped Wendy's chin and lifted her head up so she would face him.
''Now what did we say about crying?'' Natsu asked his little sister who sniffed.
''No crying over stupid reasons'' Wendy whispered before she glared at him again, green glow disappearing as she stomped on the ground angrily, accidentally letting a burst of magic that sent the wind around them attracting even more attention.
''But this isn't a stupid reason, Natsu! Dragonification has started and you should be more careful! You know how dangerous-'' she stopped midsentence when she became aware of the dry look Natsu was pointing at her. The young girl looked at the gathered guild members around them, all staring at the duo.
''Dragonification?'' Makarov asked with a frown.
''It's already started Wendy'' Natsu turned to her, ignoring the others at the moment, there will be time to deal with them later. ''There is nothing I can do to stop it and if I don't use my magic it will only take a few weeks more before it's complete''
''Would you just start explaining?'' Erza demanded when she realized the dragon prince was done talking. ''You can't expect us to just ignore whatever dragonification is! If it's dangerous for you we could maybe help!''
''You can't'' Natsu replied simply. ''And about explaining it... I will do that but once the guild hall is repaired''
Erza frowned at that. ''And why not now?''
''Leave it be Erza'' it was surprisingly Gray's advice. ''If the black bastard plans on telling anything he will tell it only when he feels like it''
Natsu frowned at the insult so instead of staying quiet as was he intentionally planned he added ''Snowman is right''
Gray glared at the pink-haired teen and would've sworn he was looking smug. The small crowd of gathered mages stayed quiet for a moment until Mira stepped out, looking quite bruised herself.
''You were in a fight?'' Natsu asked when she walked to him. The white-haired beauty smiled at him. ''Yup. Though Elfman rescued me''
Natsu's eyes looked over the crowd and settled on the giant of a man who gulped when he found a pair of slitted eyes on him.
''And why were you in a fight?''
''Sol tried to use me against Elfman'' Mira pouted. ''The nerve of that man!''
Elfman paled slightly while Natsu's eyes narrowed.
''But enough about me!'' Mira replied cheerfully, though her eyes stayed fixed on the hands still covered in black blood. ''That needs to be warped up'' she stated.
''I know'' Natsu replied hiding the confusion he felt at that statement. Of course, he knew that. Why was Mira pointing out the obvious?
''I have some bandages at my place so you could go with me home'' Mira offered making the rest of the guild drop their jaws.
''But Mira, he'll know where we live!'' Elfman exclaimed before he could stop himself. The dual glare now sent his way did nothing to calm white-haired teenager's nerves and the heel that hit him in the head did not help.
Mira scoffed at him and took off her second heel, unable to stand properly with only one on.
''I think I'll pass'' Natsu said with a small smile, barely visible on his lips. ''I wouldn't want Elfman sleeping with one eye open for the rest of his life''
Elfman could do little but gave an ''Ugh!'' as the second heel hit him in the stomach.
''He won't mind!'' Mira persisted. ''Please~''
''Still, I think I'll pass'' Natsu responded and looked around as the guild members around them practically leaned closer to hear them better. He leaned slightly towards Mira making her blush. ''Though you could always come to my house''
Mira brightened up at the proposal while the guild once again could only gape in shock.
''Lead the way!'' Mira stated with a grin. Natsu smiled, the smile barely visible before his eyes turned to Wendy. ''Wanna come with us? Mira could use a healer''
''I'm not that hurt!'' Mira protested with a smile, obviously not truly caring whatever or not the blue-haired girl would go with them. Wendy looked at her brother, somewhat surprised but pleased he invited her and quickly jogged to the two.
''Well that means we're coming too'' Carla told the three while Happy cheered behind her ''Sleepover at Natsu's!''
Natsu's face remained blank at that, unsure how to respond to that and once again the first this that came to his mind didn't sound quite appropriate.
''No'' he said instead to the cats. Happy gaped and Carla glared at him but he quickly continued before they could speak ''Find a place to sleep cause you probably wouldn't like my way of traveling''
Carla and Happy didn't need elaborating as they walked away without a word.
End of chapter 15.
Rewritten
Please review and thanks for reading. :)